Mobile User Research NVAC Consortium Mobile Analytics Panel October 5, 2006

1. Mobile User ResearchNVAC ConsortiumMobile Analytics PanelOctober 5, 2006 Colleen Page Integral Usability

2. Outline • What is mobile work? • Mobile device considerations • Mobile work environment • Accessibility issues • Design strategies • Small screen usability issues • User research methods • Usability testing strategies

3. What is mobile work? • Is it all of the work that takes place away from the office? • Anytime anywhere a decision maker can be contacted is a mobile work location/situation. • Work life and personal life are interwoven. • Emergencies happen during personal time, travel time, offsite work. • People need to make decisions to resolve crises wherever they are. • People need information in order to make informed decisions.

4. Mobile Device Considerations • What types of devices best support the mobile activity? • Feature set • Screen size • Input mechanism • Portability • Fast, easy access • Reliable connectivity

5. Mobile Work Environment • What are the mobile work situations and environments? • Sitting, standing, walking? • Are two hands available for input? • Not if user is standing, moving, and carrying other items. • Are there variations in light? i.e. bright sunlight • Does user wear gloves or protective gear? • Is verbalization and audio output appropriate?

6. Accessibility Issues • Small screen displays are difficult for visually impaired and many older people to read. • Input devices are difficult for some people to use. • Tiny keys, toggle keys, notebook scroll pads, buttons on sides of devices have error potential for: • people with limited hand movement • anyone with a tremor • people wearing gloves

7. Design Strategies • Design content to render optimally on different devices. • Design graphical objects to be consistent and recognizable between devices. • Colors render consistently on different devices, are recognizable in small format. • Shapes are meaningful in large format, recognizable in small format. • Distill text to summary format for small devices. • Summarize in context with user’s role.

8. Small Screen Usability Issues • Users can get lost if they have to scroll down or sideways on a small screen. • Consistent title headers are helpful markers. • Graphics and content must be scaled to display optimally on small screen. • Smaller version of recognizable graphic is good. • Scrolling across a full size graphic is bad. • Frames are bad.

9. User Research Methods • How do we identify work activities, environments, and situations? • Structured interviews • Contextual field studies • How do we design for the actual work? • Market segmentation -> personas • Participatory design • Usability tests during design and development cycle.

10. Usability Testing Strategies • Usability test with different screen sizes, input devices. • Test text readability on small devices • Test recognition and meaning of graphical objects. • Compare comprehension on small device with PC. • Compare summary on small device with full text on PC. • Test navigation through info on small device. • Design lab tests in context of typical work situations. • Test some tasks with instruction to stand, sit, move, hold device as the user would in real life.

11. Contact Info • Colleen PageIntegral Usability, LLC • phone: 425.485.6301 • email: colleenp@integralusability.com